Yob spearheads BNP election bid

A convicted football hooligan is spearheading the British National Party's London election campaign.

Jason Douglas, 37, has been selected as the far-Right party's main candidate for June's elections to the London Assembly.

Leyton Orient fan Douglas has a history of racism at football matches that once saw him convicted of a public order offence, the Evening Standard can reveal.

He was also arrested three years ago for allegedly chanting racist slogans at a black player, though police decided not to press any charges.

And he was forced to quit his job in the mail room of a top London law firm last summer after becoming involved in an "altercation" with a colleague.

But he could find himself on the London Assembly - the 25-member body that scrutinises the Mayor and oversees his budget - if he receives 80,000 votes across the capital.

This would give the BNP its highestprofile success in the UK to date, after taking six council seats in Burnley and having councillors elected in Essex and Hertfordshire.

Race campaigners say this would be a "disaster" for race relations in the capital, and fear Mr Douglas's chances could be enhanced by an expected low turnout at the polls.

Mr Douglas has been given first place on the BNP's list of candidates to fight the Assembly elections.

Under the complex system of proportional representation used to elect some Assembly members, he stands a good chance of a seat if his party takes five per cent of the votes cast on 10 June.

In the first elections for the Mayor and Assembly four years ago, the BNP polled 47,670 votes - 2.9 per cent of ballots cast - on a turnout of only

33.5 per cent. If turnout remains at a similar level, 40,000 more votes could see the BNP claim a historic seat at City Hall. At present the party has no councillors in any London borough but has one each on Broxbourne council in Hertfordshire and Thurrock council in Essex.

The BNP also has a London Mayoral candidate, Julian Leppert. However he has no chance of defeating Ken Livingstone. Mr Douglas, who lives in South Woodford and now works for a Holborn law firm, told the Standard his past was behind him and he was a reformed character. He admitted his arrest at a Darlington v Leyton Orient game in 2001 "for what was called racial chanting".

However, he was convicted of a public order offence "many, many years ago" after being arrested at another football match. "I regret my actions," he said. "I have paid the fine and learned my lesson. It was 14 years ago. I have moved on."

Now he aims to target outer London boroughs such as Redbridge, Havering, Enfield, Barking and Dagenham, Bexley and Bromley. "In the current climate we have won seats in Grays [in Thurrock] and in Broxbourne - not a million miles from London,"

Mr Douglas said. "I will try and go against the stereotypical view of the BNP. I would represent all people of London, regardless of race, colour and creed."

The Operation Black Vote campaign - who are planning a campaign with the slogan: "The racists are more dangerous than ever. They're voting" - said the threat of the BNP meant it was essential for people to register to vote.

Samantha Heath, deputy chair of the London Assembly, said: "I don't believe Londoners will knowingly go out and vote for someone who has the policies of the BNP. But having said that, when the turnout is low strange things do happen."